New Hartford cemetery might get cleanup

Tuesday

Mar 31, 2009 at 12:01 AMMar 31, 2009 at 1:18 PM

Bob Dicker, an honorary trustee for the historical society, has asked the town to clean up and maintain Lasher Cemetery. Town officials say they’re considering how to maintain all of the town’s abandoned cemeteries.

DAN MINER

Chadwicks resident Edward Lasher was killed in North Carolina in the Civil War in January 1865.

Soon thereafter, his brother, Charles, traveled to North Carolina, had his brother’s body exhumed and paid $25 to send the body back home by train.

Edward Lasher was buried in what is now known as Lasher Cemetery, off Rockport Road. He lies along with his mother, father, brothers, sisters, nieces and nephews.

But unless you knew what you were looking for, it would be hard to tell an American veteran lies there.
That’s because the sign and gravestones are in disrepair. Small trees need to be removed and the fence needs to be fixed.

“That’s a Civil War veteran up there,” said Bob Dicker, speaking on behalf of the New Hartford Historical Society at a recent presentation to the Town Board. “He should have — to my way of thinking — a good marker for his grave.”

Dicker, an honorary trustee for the historical society, was asking the town to clean up and maintain Lasher Cemetery. Town officials say they’re considering how to maintain all of the town’s abandoned cemeteries.

Including Lasher, there are seven of them, Councilman Robert Payne Jr. said.

“We’re going to look into seeing where some of the responsibility lies,” he said.

Ideas have come easily – from tapping available state funds for repairs to letting Boy Scout troops adopt them and maintain them.

Town Supervisor Earle Reed said the town would likely use Lasher as a test case, commencing some repairs by early summer.

“Lasher would be a good one to look at,” he said. “You could get an idea of what that entails and at least that tells you how much work goes into it.”

The last time Lasher was cleaned was for an Eagle Scout Project by Utica resident Mark Williamson in 1983.
Williamson is a relative of the Lashers.

He said new gravestones could be ordered from the Veterans of Foreign Wars, and that he was considering getting a group together to clean it independent of the town’s efforts.

“It means a lot because I think it’s been forgotten about,” Williamson said. “Since I’ve been back (from military service), I’ve been back putting flags up there. It’s more of a promise, a family thing.”

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.